Kayla Denise Parker-Tolbert (June 29, 1971 – April 21, 2007) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and R&B singer and songwriter. As a

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

, producer and background singer, she has worked with a number of

and R&B musicians, including CeCe,

BeBe Bebe, Bèbè, Bebé, Bébé or BeBe may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bebe (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or nickname * Bebé, footballer Tiago Manuel Dias Correia (born 1990) * Bebé (f ...

and

Vickie Winans Vickie Winans (born Viviane Bowman; October 18, 1953) is an American gospel singer. Early life The seventh of twelve children, Winans was born in Michigan to Mattie A. Bowman, a housewife, and Aaron Bowman, who worked at various times as a lab ...

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

, Anthony Hamilton, Michelle Williams of

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

and Mark Kibble of

Take 6 Take 6 is an American a cappella gospel music, gospel sextet formed in 1980 on the campus of Oakwood University, Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. The group integrates jazz with spiritual and inspirational lyrics. Take 6 has received seve ...

. Her television appearances included ''

Oprah Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

'', ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'' and ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'', and her songs were performed on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'',

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

and TBN among others.

Biography

She was born Kayla Denise Parker to Richard and Aseneth Parker on June 29, 1971, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. She showed an early interest in music, influenced by her father, a

, producer and

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

executive who was discovered by

Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...

, and her mother, a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

singer. After her parents' divorced, Kayla's mother bought her a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, on which she would learn songs by the likes of

DeBarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consisted ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, the Clark Sisters, the Winans and

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

. Kayla became a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and continued to develop her musical ability as she served as an apprentice under the Minister of Music, Ted Thomas at Goodwill Community Chapel. At Detroit's

Pershing High School John J. Pershing High School is a four-year public high school in Detroit, Michigan. It is in Conant Gardens in proximity to the residential areasproducer

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...

(

Anita Baker Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. She is one of the most popular singers of soulful ballads, especially renowned for her work during the height of the quiet storm period in the 1980s. Starting her career ...

) heard them and began working with them. At this point the group shortened their name to "Special Gift". Their recordings and performances, riding the strength of Kayla's songwriting, quickly earned them national recognition. As a member of the National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Chorus (founded by Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey), Kayla's 1989 arrangement of "Since Jesus Came Into My Life" won the convention's nationwide competition for "Song of the Year". This arrangement was later included on the album '' Ron Winans Family and Friends Volume 3''. Kayla joined Perfecting Church, whose pastor was

Marvin Winans Marvin Lawrence Winans (born March 5, 1958) is an American pastor and gospel singer, and a member of the musical Winans family. He is also known for his recurring role in the hit show ''Tyler Perry's House of Payne''. Life and career Early life W ...

, in 1990. Her song "Now Are We", performed by the Perfected Praise Choir, gained her national recognition. A fan of

Twinkie Clark Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born November 15, 1954) is an American gospel singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, musician, and evangelist. Clark is best known as a member of the American gospel singing group the Clark Sisters. Clark is k ...

, Kayla would listen to the

Clark Sisters The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm (born 1948), Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford (born 1953), Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born 1954), Dorinda Clark-Cole (born 1957), and Karen Clark ...

and try to play their music at the church piano between services. When Twinkie Clark left the Clark Sisters, Kayla was chosen as their first background singer, a slot she held for a year. She worked with Mark Kibble of

on gospel's

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

- and Stellar- award-winning

Donnie McClurkin Donald Andrew "Donnie" McClurkin, Jr. (born November 9, 1959) is an American gospel singer and minister. He has won three Grammy Awards, ten Stellar Awards, two BET Awards, two Soul Train Awards, one Dove Award and one NAACP Image Awards. He i ...

's first solo project. She did commercials with

Fred Hammond Frederick William Hammond (born December 27, 1960) is an American gospel singer, bass guitar player, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most popular figures in contemporary gospel music. He is known for using a variety of differe ...

and Eric Dawkins, wrote songs for Hammond's second album, and wrote the hit "Now Are We" for Marvin Winans and the Perfected Praise Choir. She was also a background singer for

BeBe Winans Benjamin "BeBe" Winans (born September 17, 1962) is an American gospel and R&B singer. He is a member of the noted Winans family, most members of which are also gospel artists. Winans has released nine albums, seven with his sister CeCe Winans, C ...

, traveling to Europe and performing on

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

's and

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

's shows. She met superstar producer

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

and sang on

's record, then moved to California. In 1999 Parker was diagnosed with cancer, and returned to Detroit for treatment and recovery. After overcoming the disease, she returned to California, where she threw herself back into songwriting and also learned to engineer her own recording sessions. Working with a producer friend, she pulled together recordings of a number of her songs, both gospel and inspirational R&B - - "life music," she calls it - - and looked to develop her own artistry. Her material was also recorded by other artists:

CeCe Winans Priscilla Marie Winans Love, known professionally as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer. She rose to prominence as a member of the duo BeBe & CeCe Winans; before launching an acclaimed solo career. Winans has been a ...

recorded "He's Concerned About You," whose message of hope found a natural audience in the wake of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, and

recorded the hit single "It's Alright". Others including Rodney and Joy Jerkins and gospel jazz artist

Tim Bowman Timothy Bowman Sr. (born April 22, 1959) is an American smooth jazz gospel musician. He started his music career, in 1996, with the release of, ''Love, Joy, Peace'', by INSP Media Group (Insync Music) alongside Diamante Records, and they relea ...

have recorded material written by Parker. In 2004, Kayla married David E. Tolbert. Her music was played at the funeral of

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...

. Kayla Parker died on April 21, 2007, from breast cancer. She is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in West Covina, CA. {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Kayla 1971 births 2007 deaths American women singer-songwriters Deaths from breast cancer 20th-century American singer-songwriters Singers from Detroit 20th-century American women singers Singer-songwriters from Michigan 21st-century American women